The metaverse is emerging as one of the trending topics in technology and social spaces. Tech and crypto developers are constantly working on creating the infrastructure and services to fuel the growth of the metaverse.
However, there is still a lot of speculation when it comes to the future of the metaverse. In this article, let us take a closer look at the growth potential of this new virtual reality and what we can expect from it in 2023. Let’s start.
What Is Metaverse?
Although the metaverse is a hot new topic, a large percentage of the population is still unclear about how it works. In simple terms, the metaverse is a virtual world where users can interact with others and share experiences in real time. There are many underlying technologies that facilitate the metaverse. Some of them are blockchain technology, artificial intelligence, and virtual and augmented reality.
For instance, players can create their own virtual avatars and enter the metaverse. To take things one step further, they can also get an immersive experience using VR headsets. Now, anyone can create their own virtual spaces and even monetize them. There are multiple virtual worlds set up by different companies, and in the future, it is expected that you can get practically any service.
So, you could take a virtual trip to the metaverse, attend a concert, visit a casino, and more. Who knows, in the future, you might even be able to attend university, or students might be able to visit the metaverse and simply shout out, ‘can someone write my paper services‘ to get help with their academics. Well, the gist is that the possibilities are endless.
However, we can expect metaverse to offer the following use cases in the near future.
New Marketing Channel
Over the past decade, marketing has taken a leap from TV commercials to the digital world. With the metaverse, there is now a whole new virtual world for advertisement. The concept might not be popular yet; however, many popular brands have already ventured into the metaverse to set up their presence.
For instance, Hyundai created a virtual experience in Roblox, a popular metaverse game. Nike is also in the works of launching Nikeland, and its advertisement on YouTube garnered millions of views. Similarly, brands such as Coca-Cola, Wendy’s, and Ikea have also had successful market campaigns on the metaverse.
The appeal here is obvious. Metaverse focuses on providing one-to-one connections. It allows customers to interact with the brand in unique ways. It isn’t clear how far metaverse marketing will be successful. However, as the latest cool way of advertisement, it will be a while before the virtual world gets saturated with ads.
Decentralized Metaverse Platform
Perhaps the biggest attraction of cryptocurrencies was decentralization. In other words, there are no central authorities that control or regulate digital tokens. The same benefits will transfer to decentralized metaverses. By using distributed ledgers and blockchain technology, the metaverse can help build a new world that’s outside of the control of corporations.
Popular platforms such as Decebtraland and The Sandbox are built using the same concept. These metaverses are controlled by DAOs, meaning all individuals with ownership of the tokens get the right to vote on the major decisions. In other words, these platforms are user-owned communities. In 2023, we are likely to see the emergence of other decentralized metaverses that will be driven by communities.
NFTs
NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are another major attraction of the metaverse and are viewed as the future of crypto development. These are unique tokenized versions of assets that live on blockchains. You can create an NFT of virtually anything – an artwork, a photograph, virtual lands, virtual trees, accessories, weapons, and more. And NFTs are non-fungible, as in, no two NFTs are alike.
There is a growing market for NFTs, where they can be traded like other assets, such as cryptocurrencies and commodities. In fact, brands such as Nike and Adidas have already released NFT versions of their products. Although these products cannot be used in the real world, they can be traded in markets to earn a profit.
Virtual Events
The COVID-19 pandemic drove the shift to virtual events, and the metaverse can take it to the next level. Instead of simply sitting behind the computer to attend webinars, metaverse allows users to step on into the virtual world and get a completely immersive experience with the support of techs such as AR and VR.
In 2021 and 2022, we saw many successful events, such as concerts by Travis Scott, Justin Beiber, Ariana Grande, and more. Metaverse has also played host to conferences such as the Metaverse Ecosystem Development & Investment Conference Asia Station, Augmented World Expo, and more.
In 2023, we can expect to see more virtual events take place in the metaverse. The tickets might be sold as NFTs, and users will be able to spend time with friends without having to leave the comfort of their homes. Not only brands, anyone can hold virtual events and sell tickets to earn money online.
Advanced Avatar Versions
For those unaware, we can enter the world with the help of avatars that represent us. In the beginning, avatars looked more or less like cartoon characters. However, things are changing.
Avatars are becoming more advanced and realistic. It is now becoming possible for avatars to adopt our own body language and even replicate our unique gestures. Moreover, with interconnected metaverses, users can navigate multiple virtual worlds with a single avatar.
Crypto Winter of 2023
While there are many exciting trends in the metaverse, it is also important to bear in mind that the wider crypto market is going through a downturn. Many crypto analysts speculate that the market will have a bull run in 2023; however, there is no guarantee of it.
On one side, metaverse believers view this bear market as an opportunity to make investments. At the other end of the spectrum, there are many investors who prefer to be cautious and limit their exposure to metaverse tokens and NFTs.
Regardless, from the looks of it, the growth of the metaverse isn’t likely to slow down anytime soon, and 2023 will bring in further interesting developments.
